How do extra payments change a loan?
Extra payments reduce the principal sooner. In this model, the regular payment stays the same, interest falls from the next period, and the loan can finish in fewer payments. You can add a recurring extra from payment 1, a one-time extra at a chosen payment number, or both.
Try extra payments in the calculator
Example: $50 extra each month and $500 at payment 12
Start with $10,000, a nominal annual rate of 6%, and 60 monthly payments. Add $50 to each payment from the first month, plus $500 once at payment 12. The regular monthly payment remains $193.33.
| Result | No extras | With extras |
|---|---|---|
| Regular payment | $193.33 | $193.33 |
| Number of payments | 60 | 44 |
| Final payment | $193.21 | $168.40 |
| Total interest | $1,599.68 | $1,131.59 |
| Total paid | $11,599.68 | $11,131.59 |
The model saves $468.09 in interest and 16 monthly payments. This is a comparison with exactly the same loan without extras. It does not include any lender fee or penalty for early repayment.
What you pay at each step
Before payoff, an ordinary month totals $243.33: the $193.33 regular payment plus $50 extra. Payment 12 totals $743.33 because it also includes the $500 one-time extra. Its opening balance is $7,819.39 and interest is $39.10. After all three payment parts, its closing balance is $7,115.16.
At payment 44, only $167.56 principal and $0.84 interest remain. The tool caps the payment at $168.40 and applies no extra beyond that. The schedule stops at zero, without additional empty payments. A one-time extra scheduled after payoff is marked as not applied.
The full total is 42 × $243.33 + $743.33 + $168.40 = $11,131.59. The amortization table shows the actual regular, recurring-extra and one-time-extra portions, so you can check where your money goes.
Choose the right extra-payment fields
- Extra per payment: enter an additional amount from payment 1 onward. With monthly frequency, this is extra per month; with weekly frequency, it is extra per week.
- One-time extra: enter one additional amount and its payment number. Payment 12 means the twelfth modeled payment, rather than a calendar date.
- Compare A/B: copy A into B, then change either scenario independently. Keep amount, rate, term and frequency the same when you want to isolate the effect of extras.
If both extra types occur on one payment, the tool applies the regular payment first, then the recurring extra, then the one-time extra. Each part is limited to what is still owed. It does not recalculate a smaller regular payment or support a delayed recurring-extra start date.
Check how your lender handles early repayment
Actual savings depend on the contract’s interest method and how the lender applies an additional payment. Precomputed interest works differently from interest calculated on the outstanding balance; an extra payment may not have the effect shown here. The CFPB explains simple and precomputed interest.
Ask the lender whether the extra reduces principal, whether it changes a due date or scheduled payment, and whether fees or penalties apply. This tool does not calculate those contract terms, daily interest or a payoff quote for an existing loan.
For the rate and rounding assumptions, read which interest rate to enter and how the model works.
Example checked: . The savings are model results for these inputs, not a promise of contract savings.